More government funding would be needed should the opportunity arise to build new hospitals in Preston and Lancaster sooner than is now expected, local health leaders have said.

It comes after construction work on the schemes was last month pushed back to the mid-late-2030s – around the time the two facilities had previously been due to open. The delay followed a government review of the development of dozens of new hospitals nationwide.

Chorley MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who has long championed a state-of-the-art hospital for Central Lancashire on the site recently purchased for that purpose – off Stanifield Lane, in Farington – said in the wake of the hold-up he was hopeful the revised timetable for the national programme would eventually shift in Lancashire’s favour.

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He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the county would be well-placed to capitalise on a slowdown amongst any of the other 34 projects due to begin building in phases between now and 2039.

“Inevitably, as we go along, some of those [hospitals scheduled] in the [earlier] rounds won’t come through – and then money can be reallocated and [other] schemes can be brought forward at a faster pace,” Sir Lindsay said last month.

His comments were echoed by South Ribble MP Paul Foster – in whose constituency the proposed new Royal Preston site sits – who said it was important Lancashire was “ready” for such an eventuality.

However, it was later reported the government was planning to withdraw funding for the teams working on any hospital projects that were not due to see construction start until after 2030.

The LDRS asked the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme how feasible it would be to reheat the Preston and Lancaster schemes quickly if the chance came for them to be moved further up the queue.

A spokesperson said: “As outlined in the recent government review, Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital have been grouped in ‘Wave 3’ of the revised New Hospital Programme, with construction of the replacements for these hospitals expected to start no earlier than 2035 and 2037, respectively.

“While this is disappointing, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria is actively assessing the situation. We would of course welcome any circumstances which allowed either of the new hospitals to be built ahead of the published time. However, this would depend on further funding from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).”

The DHSC was also approached for comment, but had not responded at the time of publication.

A major public engagement exercise over the proposed sites for both new hospitals – Lancaster’s being at Bailrigg East, near Lancaster University – was cancelled last month after the construction delay was announced.

The NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria said after purchasing the plots in December that it had an “exit strategy” should other more suitable pieces of land become available – or if the outcome of the government review had caused the projects to be cancelled altogether.  However, it instead now looks set to be left with the sites lying idle for a decade or more.

The LDRS understands a planned March appearance before Lancashire County Council’s health scrutiny committee by health bosses overseeing the Preston and Lancaster hospital projects has been cancelled following news of the delay.

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